BALANCING
ACT
By Halé Sofia Schatz
Who today doesn’t feel the effects of our fast-
paced lives? We work, communicate, obtain
information, make purchases, expect everything,
and are expected to do everything, faster than
ever before. We’re also over-stimulated, over-
stressed, and just plain overwhelmed. For most
of us speed spells stress and the increased
pressures to keep up are taking a toll on our
physical and emotional health. We may not be
able to change the pace of the world, but we do
have choices in how we cope with the speed and
st
stress of our 21 century-lives, starting with our
most basic of daily needs: what we eat.
As a longtime gardener, I’ve learned from my little
plot of land that you reap what you sow. If I give
my vegetables and fruit trees the right soil and
fertilizer they will reward me with juicy, delicious
vegetables and fruits. But if I abandon my garden
and forget about watering, weeding and
fertilizing, then I will receive back that neglect in
overgrown plants that don’t produce well.
What’s true for the garden is also true for all of
us: For something to grow, it has to be fed. Of
course we know that we would starve without
food and that our bodies depend on a certain
number of calories each day to function. Beyond
basic survival, what we eat and how we feed
ourselves can make a profound difference in
how we feel physically, emotionally, and
energetically.
You’ve heard the saying, you are what you eat.
Well, I like to say, you eat what you are. What I
mean is that people tend to eat foods that
perpetuate certain behaviors. For example, to
keep up with the hectic demands of work and
family, many people fuel themselves with
stimulants like caffeine, sugar, and fast foods.
People are grabbing breakfast and coffee on their
way to work, eating a quick lunch at their desk,
drinking coffee and colas to deal with the mid-
afternoon drop in energy, and eating at
restaurants or having take-out food much more
regularly. It’s a vicious cycle. Fast-lives feed on
Original English version of article published in ELLE magazine, Turkish edition, September 2006 Page 1 of 1
fast-foods, and the quick fix pick-me-ups keep the Realizing the only fast-track she was on was
fast lives spinning out of control. towards a life of discontentment, Margrit is now
trying to find the balance between her drive for
I want to remind you that we do have the power to professional success and her desire to have a life
choose each day to feed, nourish, and grow the that’s more fulfilling than just her professional
parts of ourselves to create more balance in this identity. First of all, she needed to realize that she
daily chaos. does have choices in creating more balance for
herself even with all the external influences and
There’s a simple yet poignant story that gets to the pressures.
choice each of us has in how we want to nourish
ourselves. A Native American elder was teaching Margrit knew that regaining balance meant she
her grandchildren about life. She said to them: “A had to stop eating all of her meals out. Since I
fight is going on inside of me. It is a terrible fight find that breakfast is so critical in setting a tone
and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents for the day, I recommended that she begin taking
fear and anger. The other wolf stands for joy, her journey towards truly nourishing herself with
peace, and love. This same fight is going on inside this meal. Instead of running out the door and
you and inside every other person too.” The grabbing her usual cup of coffee and muffin at the
children thought about and then asked: “Which office, Margrit now makes it a point to give herself
wolf will win?” The wise woman simply replied: time for a satisfying breakfast at home. Breakfast
“The one you feed.” doesn’t have to be a fancy meal or a big cooking
effort, but do make it peaceful, loving, even
Margrit is a passionate, driven, and competitive beautiful. Additionally, she has begun to take
businesswoman with a recent degree from a top small walks near her office at lunchtime in the
university and a high-powered job in the financial middle of her hectic day. This gives her breathing
sector. space to relax and reconnect to her own rhythms,
which she’s discovered are much slower than the
Encouraged by her family from a young age to be pace of the business world. The extra few
independent, she has only known success. She minutes to consciously enjoy your breakfast in
works hard to achieve it, too, typically putting in 12 the morning or to take a short, rejuvenating break
to15 hour days at the office. Margrit came to see in the middle of the day will go a long way in
me because her perfectionism and workaholic reminding you that you are very much worth the
tendencies were leaving her little time to nourish effort.
herself or to enjoy life. She had convinced herself
that she only had time for take-out food, which she I share with you three simple yet powerful
ate for every meal, as she put her work above guidelines that have helped Margrit and many of
everything else in her life—from food to my other clients nourish their inner place of
relationships. People saw her as a highly balance.
successful and competent young woman who
couldn’t possibly have any problems. But this SLOW DOWN
same woman was also crying herself to sleep If you are constantly in a rush and find yourself
every night because she felt so depressed and regularly saying “I don’t have time!” then, my
alone. friend, you are going too fast. There will always
only be 24 hours in a day. The attitude we have
In my nourishment practice, I have noticed that toward those 24 hours, however, makes all the
this pattern has become much more common. difference. As I already mentioned, how we start
People are driven today more than ever. They are our morning sets the pattern for the rest of the
filled with fire, passion, and determination to day. If you’re like Margrit, running to work at the
succeed. At the same time, they feel lonely, last minute and not making the time to nourish
disconnected from their feelings, and depressed. yourself in the morning, time can feel oppressive
It’s become the accepted norm to be driven to and limited. On the other hand, preparing in
succeed professionally at the cost of all other advance by shopping or cooking ahead of time
personal development. But we need to make sure will make you feel less rushed and frazzled. By
we feed and nurture all parts of ourselves—our slowing down, you also have the opportunity to
bodies, emotions, minds, and spirits—for us to feel pay attention to what you’re eating and how those
truly empowered in our lives. foods make you feel. When was the last time you
really tasted your food, slowly chewing each bite,
Original English version of article published in ELLE magazine, Turkish edition, September 2006 Page 2 of 2
and allowing it to gently to land in your stomach, kinds of foods at one meal. Whether it’s acid
and listened to when you are really full? reflux, heartburn, ulcers, or elimination problems,
Remember that fast foods create fast lives. Make it is all the body’s way of saying “too much.”
a list of the foods that you know make you feel Actually, excess in any area of our lives can
good and energetic. Keep the list up on your create more stress. If you’re like most people,
refrigerator to remind yourself regularly. then you probably have more on your plate than
you can handle. What can you let go of? What
TRUST YOUR SENSES can you simplify? For starters, you might try
Even though most of us are living more urban lives simplifying one meal, cleaning out a room in your
with less dependency on our senses for survival, home, or making more time in your schedule to
our six senses are still our antennae to both our take a walk or have tea with a friend.
inner and external worlds. For example, has your
sense of smell ever led you wrong? Has The body’s natural inclination is for health, well-
something that smelled disgusting ever been being, and vitality, and its natural wisdom is to
tempting to eat? Unlikely. We rely on our five perpetually strive for balance. It’s a beautiful
senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and thing.
smelling—every day. I always like to include our
sixth sense as well, our intuition. Have you ever
thought of someone whom you’ve been out of To reach Hale Sofia Schatz:
touch with, and they emailed or called you within a info@heartofnourishment.com
couple of days? That’s intuition in action. Or visit www.halesofiaschatz.com.
The Turkish version of her book, BUDA Size
If we feed ourselves mostly clean, fresh, vital Yemege Gelse, is available in all bookstores.
foods, our taste buds will be much better attuned
to receive information about a particular food, its NOTE: Hale will be in Istanbul during September
benefit to the body, and how much should be and will be teaching programs at HillsideSU,
eaten. By the same measure, if we consume too Antalya in October and November. For more
many processed sugary or salty foods and snacks information about her programs and individual
our taste buds dull, causing us to want more and consults please contact, 212-352-9350
more. Because it’s integral to taste, I always or ay@aydanismanlik.com
recommend people develop their sense of smell
when it comes to purchasing, preparing, and
consuming foods. How does a piece of ripe fresh
fruit or a piece of fresh farm cheese smell versus a
packaged snack? And then pay attention to the
information that your nose sends to your mouth
and what your body has to say about which food
will really nourish you.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Whether it is simpler meals, simpler schedules, or
living in simpler homes, maintaining a balance is
much easier when you keep it simple. Now, simple
doesn’t mean boring or uninteresting. Some of the
finest meals I’ve had are those prepared with the
simplest but freshest ingredients. In fact, when
fruits and vegetables are just picked, or fish has
just been caught, very little needs to be added to
make these foods delicious. When I purchase
prepared foods I always check the label to see the
number of ingredients used, as well as if there are
any additives, and I always look for products that
have the simplest ingredients.
For many people, eating has become a
complicated affair involving too many different
Original English version of article published in ELLE magazine, Turkish edition, September 2006 Page 3 of 3